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Bengal on the boil


23 November 2007


KOLKATA continues to reel from the aftershocks of the political violence in Nandigram. So it seems.

The communist-led government of the Indian state of West Bengal has more often than not been criticised for the ham-fisted way in which it has tried to stem the rising tide of protest against the killings in the troubled region. But the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee administration should be given credit for acting with restraint and swiftness in containing what could have easily snowballed into communal disturbances across the state capital on Wednesday. They might have stuck two fingers up at the rules of governance by delaying army intervention while their cadres were 'recapturing' land from poor villagers in Nandigram, but they definitely wasted no time in calling the army to restore peace in some parts of the city where violence erupted.

In a democracy, it's definitely well within ones rights to protest against government misrule. But it's quite another thing if one registers his or her protest in an irresponsible way that can cause grievous harm to others. Hundreds of schoolchildren, teachers, parents and office-goers were stranded in the riot-torn areas as about 15,000 protestors went on the rampage, attacking policemen and taking the law into their own hands. Kolkata is no stranger to street violence or demonstrations, but any attempt to fan communal tensions is reprehensible and must be condemned in every possible way. Apparently, it all began when a group of 250 demonstrators gathered in a central Kolkata area to purportedly protest against two disparate issues — Nandigram and Taslima Nasreen.

The state administration must make all efforts needed to bring to book whoever is responsible for trying to incite communal violence. The chief minister is right when he says tremendous disrespect has been shown to the great city of Kolkata.

 



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